Falling Apart
by Fiona-Applegate
Summary: The family begins to fall apart as Mark is left unable to help them. Charater Deaths. Might end up being a oneshot the second chapter is not working out.


Well this is my first ever RENT fic and I do admit it will be pretty damn depressing throughout. A couple characters will die and to be honest there are a ton of next-generation fics and stuff but how much longer do some of these people really have? Even with medicine there is a good chance some of them will live short lives. Especially Mimi, even though she survives the play you can tell she won't be alive for much longer. The chapters also may be short so don't complain people. So this is going to be a short (3-5 chapters) depressing fiction but I do hope you will like it. This is though Mark's eyes as the sort of family they had falls apart.

Falling Apart

Chapter 1: Slipped Away

The wind blew gently on the pastel colored curtains, it seemed like yesterday they where here with Angel just wishing that he...she would pull though. Her eyes where closed but she did not seem asleep and she took short a raspy breaths as she lay in the monochrome hospital bed Roger by her side holding her hand. I felt like such an intruder on them Collins, Maureen, and Joanne where there to but they looked so calm in their seats like they where supposed to be there. I felt like some little kid who snuck into someone's house almost waiting to be caught. Roger was whispering something to Mimi I could barely hear him and part of me did not want to hear him we all knew what was going to happen.

Then who would be next? Collins? Roger? We where falling apart and yet again I'm just the one recording it all. The one who survives. Every little noise seemed stick in my mind the swishing of the curtains, the tick of the clock, the annoying beep of the machine next to Mimi monitoring something or another to be quite honest I had no idea what it was for. A nurse walked in "You should let her rest, it is getting late" she said we all looked up at her except for Roger. None of us dared move at first

"You can stay if you like." she said "But it is almost midnight."

"It's alright, you guys can go." Roger said, we all where a bit surprised it was the first thing he had said in hours. For a moment there nothing but quiet before Joanne and Maureen got up, Maureen kissed Mimi's forehead "Hang in there hunny." she said brushing a strand of Mimi's hair back. When Maureen and Joanne had departed Collins got up next. The patted Roger on the back "She'll be okay man." he said before taking one last mournful look down at Mimi and heading out the door.

I knew I would be next. The stillness of the room felt incredibly heavy crushing down on me as I walked towards the bed. It was sort of weird being there, I mean me and Mimi where kinda like friends in-law she was Roger's girlfriend and I was Roger's best friend. We got along but it still felt awkward to be there three days after Christmas looking down at this dieing woman who I only kind of knew.

"You gonna come back to the loft soon?" I asked Roger

He shook his head no "I'm gonna stay with Mimi, but its fine you can go."

"Alright." I said "I'll be back tomorrow." and I walked out of the room. I've always hated hospitals, they where so dreary so sad. Since it was late at night not many people where still around and most patients where asleep. Two young interns gossiped by the door of one of the break rooms and every now and then a distressed looking nurse would walk by. But mostly there was stillness and quiet, it drove me nuts how quiet everything was how still. I quickened my pace just to get out of that place full of sickness and death.

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It was almost one in the morning when I got back to the loft but I was wide awake I knew I was not going to sleep very easily. There where distant sounds of cars racing by and police sirens. I scuffled though some of the papers on the table before finding a Stephen King novel I had been reading and flopped down on the sofa and began to read only half comprehending what was on the pages.

Before I knew it my eyelids closed involuntarily and I dozed off. My body felt heavy and my neck hurt like hell it was an fitful and restless sleep but somehow I stayed asleep not waking till hours later when I rolled off the sofa, narrowing missing my glasses that had fallen from my face, and fully recuperated and was able to comprehend where I was and where I was supposed to be. I fumbled for my watch that I had left on the side table. The tiny metal hands told me it was close to midday.

How could I have slept so long? I knew I had to check the messages on the answering machine, Roger would be wondering why I wasn't at the hospital when I said I would be. I got up gingerly and made my way to the answering machine, sure enough the little red light was on telling me I had a message, I pressed the button and listened to the robotic voice "The following was left at four a.m December twenty-ninth." then Rogers voice came on, the tone of it made my heart sink "Hey, Mark...its um Roger I think you are asleep or something but I just though you would like to know...Mimi...she slipped away just a little bit ago...it would be great if you could just tell the others, Thanks Bye." I felt numb and cold, it had happened again this time to Mimi, this disease was killing us off one by one when would Collins and Roger go?

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The smell on incense in the church almost made me gag as the Priest blessed the coffin or something else, I couldn't tell he was an old Irish-Catholic man who mumbled his way though the small funeral. A few of Mimi's relatives sat behind me sobbing and speaking in what I assumed was Spanish.

Again I felt like an intruder but I kept telling myself to be there for Roger, just pull though as a good friend. After one of Mimi's friends from the Cat Scratch club finished speaking Roger approached the open casket. Everyone seemed to expect him to say something but he remained quiet, then I saw him pull a piece of paper from his leather jacket's pocket and tuck it under one of Mimi's hands. I knew it must have been the lyrics to the song he wrote for her. I was slightly in awe of what he had done, how romantic it was that he wanted the lyrics to the song he wrote for her to go with her to the grave.

Sitting in that pew I came to a realization that everything had changed. One more of us had departed and more would follow.

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Hmm I liked writing it I must say but it does seem rather short. Maybe it's because there is not much dialog.

See that little button in the corner? Click it and make me happy.

-Note I just updated this a bit I tryed to take x Step On Me x 's advice to fix up the chapter a bit. One of her suggestions was spelling but my only problem is I use spell check.. Maybe its just me messing up 'their' and 'there' again.


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